The Root Causes of Hunger and How Food Aid Works In Zambia

The Root Causes of Hunger and How Food Aid Works In Zambia Drinah Banda Nyirenda, PhD. Nutrition, Executive Director PAM ROOT CAUSES OF HUNGER Hunger and Poverty are complex and closely intertwined. The poor are always food insecure. Food security means Availability, diversity and acceptable Access at all time through different means Sustainable, assured supply Equity of access, no social differentiation Table 1: Status and Proportion of people living in extreme poverty and malnutrition indicators (Millennium Dev Goals, 2003). CAUSES OF HUNGER CONT. Poor economic growth Huge external debt (US$7B vs $11 service fees paid Lack of or poor implementation of FS Policies Lack of financial capacity to implement large scale social protection prog. Lack of political will/good governance HIV/AIDS eroding effect-human,assets Gender disparities; women-girls-children ZAMBIAN RECURENT FOOD CRISIS HOW FOOD AID WORKS IN ZAMBIA Government humanitarian appeal Vulnerability Assessment UN-WFP Response by international appeal NGO and Donor Response Local government / private sector response FOOD AID 1992 COORDINATION VULNERABILITY ASSESSMT DONE/NFNC GOVT/WFP/DONORS CREATED PPM CREATED PAM TO COORDINATE AS SECRETARIAT GOVT/WFP/DONORS PROCURED FOODSTOCKS & PAM DISTRIBUTED FOOD TO CBO FOOD AID 2002 COORDINATION GOVT PROCURED LOCAL FOOD WFP PROCURED SA CONSOLIDATED APPEAL OUTSIDE AFRICA INGO PROCURED OUTSIDE ZAMBIA & DISTRIBUTED OWN STOCKS TO COMMUNITIES GOVT & WFP COORDINATED OWN DISTRIBUTION THROUGH INGOS INDIVIDUAL MONITORING & ACCOUNTABILITY FOOD AID BEYOND FOOD CRISIS 2003-04 ZAMBIA RECORDED SURPLUS FOOD PRODUCTION WFP & INGO CONT. TO DISTRIBUTE FOOD AID (2003-2004) FOOD FOR ASSET SCHOOL FEEDING/HIV/AIDS TARGETS LEFT OVER STOCK FROM DELAYED PIPELINE REDUCING HUNGER & POVERTY PRSP 2000 & MTDS PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION MILLENIUM DEVT GAOLS to 2015 REDUCE HUNGER AND POVERTY BY 50% SEVERELY LIMITED RESOURCE ENVELOP AND DEBT SERVICING HIPC COMPLETION POINT MOVING TARGET WAY FORWARD SCALING UP SUCCESSFUL PRO-POOR PROGRAMMES Zambia Social Investment Fund and Rural Investment Fund & community participation Crop diversification and alternative livelihoods to spread risk (cassava/sweet potatoes) and marketing food surplus Sustainable farming systems against crop failure Out-grower schemes PAM FOOD SECURITY INTERVENTIONS Diversifying away from food aid to: Small Holder Access to Processing Extension and Seed, Norad & Sida Food Security Pack Crop diversification, alternative livelihoods, market entrep. And cereal/seed bank centers Cassava nursery development/FAO Nutrition intervention in HIV/AIDS